Monday, November 2, 2015

Sweet Shoe Lights (Still not Paris)

It's the "Ride in the Rain" challenge this month around Seattle at least. It's possible it may be a nationwide thing as well, but I've not bothered to look in that because, well, I'm in Seattle so it's here that matters to me. As of 6:22 p.m. of the first work day, I'm 100%. (We're counting only work days here, not weekends, okay?) On the way home it occurred to me that I might be better about continuing with this business, which is a lot more challenging than May's "Bike to Work," if I kept some sort of public record so that's what this is: my public declaration that I'm doing this and that I'll keep track of how I do here. Sure, there are maybe a dozen people who read this blog but that's how many you need for a jury, right?

The real reason, I confess, for this going public business is actually "sweet shoe lights" because that's what a fellow cyclist said to me as he rode up next to me as I was waiting for a gap in traffic this evening. And they are pretty sweet shoe lights or, to be more precise, lightweight halo overshoes. I bought them yesterday at West Seattle Cyclery when Scott and I ducked in there to get out of the rain before getting serious about the West Seattle Farmers Market, thus demonstrating, quite forcefully, that the farmers market benefits the local businesses. (It also demonstrated a few hours later that I'd better be good about staying on a budget until my next paycheck.) S'anyways. The idea was to keep my shoes dry while riding but it's really the blinky red lights in the heels that made the purchase inevitable because I don't worry as much about getting wet as I do about getting run over (as the ever-increasing number of lights on my bike and person demonstrates).

The blinky boots (not blinking because this is a still photo. Unfortunately)

I took my usual route on the way home this evening but I won't be doing that again, not until spring. The park I like to wend my way through turns out to be pitch dark--which doesn't stop people from having their dogs there, romping about. Between worrying about going off the path and crashing downhill and worrying about colliding with a bounding dog, I found it wasn't so relaxing. It's the duller but presumably safer (as long as my blinky heels are working!) streets for me this month.

There's more to this evening's challenges: the red blinky light on the back of Bessie's basket was fussy about working before I even left the parking lot so that required a few minutes with my trusty Swiss Army knife before I could set off into the dark of the night. Then Bessie slipped her chain as I was shifting down to the absurdly low gear I require to get over the West Seattle Bridge and fell over as I was fixing that, wrapping herself about the pole I'd leaned her against. As I was wrestling her back upright, after putting her chain back on, a cyclist slowed to ask if I had everything in hand so it turned out to be a sort of nice thing since I do like the way other cyclists so often show concern. (That I am so often in a condition to elicit concern is less great.)

That's a grand total of just over four miles -- and just about 400 feet of elevation gain. Phew! I need a cocktail!